What Constitutes a Mature Buck?

As you've seen, we talk a lot about taking mature bucks and letting small bucks go to produce more mature bucks. But, what exactly is a mature whitetail buck? Well, in our opinion, it is more of a question of the deer's age rather than the antler or body size. Simply, a 2.5 year old 10 pointer is, in our opinion, much less mature and "appealing" than a 4.5 year old 10 point. The difficulty comes in making these decisions in the woods when there may be only a few seconds to decide whether a buck is mature and harvestable or still a "young buck."

A lot of people put stock into the number of antlers or the size of the antlers when dealing with deer maturity. This can create a huge problem for QDMers and others trying to produce mature bucks. A nice 2.5 year old eight point (say a score of around 110), while perhaps looking like a mature deer, is in fact the last deer we would want to take as it is genetics such as these which leads to P&Y and B&C bucks when they reach maturity at the age of 3.5 years old or older. For both Cody and I, seeing a deer that is over the age of 3.5 years has been, in the past, very unlikely. However, given our management practices, the chances of seeing a mature deer as such is going up every year.

Hunting pressure, herd balance and herd genetics all play a part in the maturity one can expect when dealing with bucks. With less pressure and a better herd balance, the 2.5 year old deer will start producing larger racks and more massive bodies, thus, by the time they reach 3.5 and older they will be not only mature, but monster bucks that can get even the seasoned hunter shaking in the treestand.

At this point, Cody and I both consider 3.5 year old bucks a mature and takable deer. Combining the fact that bucks under this age harbor so much potential with the added challenge of seeing and taking older deer, we both have no problem passing on younger bucks even if they are a nice racked 2.5 year old eight pointer. When seeing deer of this age and magnitude, it show us that our hard work, patience and perseverance is really paying off. And, let me tell you, it is and has been definitely worth the wait!

We have a couple of websites that really go hand in hand with what we consider mature bucks. The first gives a description as well as a drawing of bucks in different age groups. The second was pointed out to us in one of our comments by a fellow hunter who took a monster buck last year that scored over 164! (Check out his comments below in the "What Constitutes a Mature Buck: Coming Soon") We encourage you to check out both websites, they are both entertaining and very informative:
http://www.bowhunting.net/artman/publish/Management_Advantage/Let_Them_Walk.shtml
http://www.fieldandstream.com/article_gallery/The-Buck-of-a-Lifetime/3

Finally, check out the picture with this post. This is a very nice 2.5 year old buck that we passed on several times last year. Note the small body size, straight back and lack of a big chest. Then imagine how nice he'll be this coming year with a year of maturity!! Well, we're getting a little long winded here! Cody will probably be getting back on here in a day or two with another hunting report. Until then, God Bless and Happy Hunting!